Collards are the under appreciated member of the cooking greens family. We find them to be less bitter (and at the right time of year) more tender than kale. Try substituting collards for kale or swiss chard and we think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic and pepper flakes until tender, about 1 minute. Add white beans and collard greens and cook, stirring often until the beans are lightly browned and the collards are bright green and tender. About 5 minutes. Grate the lemon zest and drizzle in the lemon juice. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Remove from the heat.

Bring a large pot of lightly slated water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Add the pasta to the skillet with the beans and greens, tossing to coat. Add the reserved pasta water to adjust consistency. Divide pasta between plates and top with the sliced turnips, dill, and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with a touch of olive oil. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

*Use this recipe as a guide*Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary*Taste test as you go

Make pickled apples:Quarter and core apples, then cut each quarter lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Boil vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pickling spice in a saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add apples and return to a boil. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool. Chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 hour.

Prepare collard greens:Halve each collard leaf lengthwise with kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cutting out and discarding center ribs. Stack leaves and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Transfer to a large bowl.

Just before serving:Transfer all nuts and oil from skillet to collards and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Add apple slices, discarding pickling liquid and spices, and toss again.

Farmer Meg's Collard Green Spring Rolls

1. Coat skillet or frying pan with cooking oil. Heat on medium and add minced onions, turnips and any other crisp vegetables that require extra cooking. Saute for several minutes before adding kale or other vegetables. Continue sauteing until veggies are soft.

2. Heat water in a pan for steaming collard greens. Meanwhile, remove the lower part of the collard stem, leaving the leaf fully in tact. Place collard leaves in the steam bath until tender (approximately 1 minute). Remove and set aside. 3. Once all of the leaves have been steamed, stuff them with the veggie saute filling and roll them up like a burrito. Rolls can be eaten alone or served with a pineapple sweet and sour sauce (similar to the one below).

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup

1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

1. Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar and ketchup in a small pan. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Add warm cornstarch slurry and cook, sitrring until sauce is thickened. Let cool before serving.

Collard Green Wraps with Rainbow Veggies & Peanut Sauce (V + GF)

Perfect for quick lunches and power snacking, this vibrant wrap is a great way to help you "eat the rainbow"!

|Makes 1|

Wrap Ingredients

1 collard green

1/4 avocado, mashed

1/3 cup cooked quinoa

1/4 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup sliced cucumber (about 5 medium thin strips)

1/4 cup red bell pepper (about 5 medium thin strips)

1/4 cup orange bell pepper (about 5 medium thin strips)

Peanut Sauce Ingredients

|Makes about 1 cup|

3 Tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos (or low sodium soy or tamari sauce)

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 small clove garlic

3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

2 tsp red Thai chili paste

1 Tbsp almond milk

Instructions

Start with preparing the sauce by combining all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Lay the collard leaf on a flat surface and spread mashed avocado in the middle of the leaf.

Take 1 Tbsp peanut sauce and stir into cooked quinoa. Spoon the quinoa onto the leaf (on top of the avocado).

Follow with all the remaining veggie fillings.

Drizzle more peanut sauce over the top then fold the collard leaf to make a wrap. Take a look at this collard wrap tutorial from Choosing Raw. This is exactly how I wrap mine!

Enjoy!

Collard Greens and Kale Pesto

Ingredients

Servings: Makes 2 cups

1 small bunch collard greens, stems removed

1 small bunch Tuscan kale, stems removed

Kosher salt

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1½ ounces grated Parmesan (about ½ cup)

1 cup olive oil

½ cup unsalted, roasted peanuts

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Cook collard greens and kale in a large pot of boiling salted water until bright green and tender, about 45 seconds. Transfer to a bowl of ice water (this will stop the cooking and help lock in the color). Drain; squeeze out as much liquid as possible (to avoid a watery sauce).

Coarsely chop greens and place in a food processor. Add garlic, Parmesan, oil, peanuts, lemon zest, and lemon juice; process on low speed until a coarse but well-blended mixture forms (a little texture is part of the selling point). Season with salt and plenty of pepper.

Do Ahead: Pesto can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly against surface, and chill.

Wrap the beets in foil, place them on a cookie sheet and put them into a preheated 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes to an hour or so (or until they are tender). In the meantime, coat a large saute pan with olive oil and gently heat. Over a low heat, toss in minced garlic and stir. Next, add in chopped collard greens and saute until tender. Once the beets are cooked, remove from oven and let cool for about 30 minutes or so. Open the beets and remove the skin with your fingers (it should come off easily). Cut the roasted beets into bite sized chunks and add to the collard green saute mixture and stir. Lastly, add cooked beans if desired, warm saute mixture and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Enjoy!

- See more at: https://www.apassionforhealthyliving.com/sauteed-collard-greens-roasted-beets-white-northern-beans-garlic-oil/#sthash.kOZCvekC.dpuf

spicy parmesan collard chips

By Joanne Lusted

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com

Serves: 6Hands-on time: 15 minutesTotal time: 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 head collard greens, rinsed and dried (about 12 oz)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Ensure that 2 racks are in place in oven, in middle and bottom third positions. Preheat oven to 300°F.

Using a knife, remove thick stems from center of collard leaves, cutting leaves in half. Then cut each leaf into 2 1/2-inch pieces. In a large mixing bowl, toss collards with oil, lemon juice and Parmesan until evenly coated; season with cayenne and salt.

Arrange leaves in a single layer on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, dividing evenly (leaves may overlap slightly). Both sheets of collards may be cooked simultaneously but placed on separate oven racks.

Bake collards for about 18 minutes, until leaves are crispy and cheese is golden brown. After 12 minutes of cooking, begin checking leaves for doneness every 2 minutes. Remove any crisp chips each time and return sheets to oven until all chips are done. Allow chips to cool to room temperature and enjoy. Chips may be stored in a sealable bag or container in a cool, dark place for up to 5 days.

Grilled Collard Greens

Remove the ribs from the collard greens and discard. Put the leaves into the boiling, water, then add the bacon slices and blanch the collard greens for about 2 minutes. Remove the leaves from the water and place into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.

Remove the collards from the ice water and stack the leaves flat on top of each other, about 7 to 9 at a time. Put the stacked collards on the grill for 4 minutes per side.

Transfer the leaves from the grill to a cutting board and roughly chop. Put into a serving bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Collard Greens Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

We use bacon fat here primarily for flavor. Bacon fat provides an excellent balance to the natural bitter of the collard greens. That said, you can easily skip the bacon fat and just use a little more olive oil.

Ingredients

2 lbs collard greens, tough stems discarded, leaves chopped

2 Tbsp medium onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons bacon fat

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp dark sesame oil (Dynasty or comparable)

Chili pepper flakes, a pinch

Salt, a couple pinches

Sugar, a couple pinches

Method

1 Use a large skillet with a tight fitting cover. Melt bacon fat and heat olive oil on medium heat. Sauté onion until transparent, a couple of mintues. Add garlic and and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2 Mix in the greens, sesame oil, chili pepper flakes, salt, and sugar. Cover and cook until tender, 8-15 minutes. (Note that young collard greens will cook up relatively quickly. Older greens may take upwards of 45 minutes to tenderize.)

Peanut Sauce: (Can be added directly to the dish, or served separately in a bowl)

2-3 Tbl chunky peanut butter

1-3 tsp hot water

Combine and add to the greens at the end of the cooking time.

Optional addition:

Roasted Chili-Peanuts

2 cups shelled raw peanuts

1 tsp roasted peanut or vegetable oil

2-3 tsp ground red chile or 1 tsp cayenne

½ tsp turmeric (no more or the taste will be too strong)

1 tsp sea or kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 300° F. Toss the peanuts in the oil. Spread on a cookie sheet and roast until golden, about 25 minutes. Shake the pan evenly so they color evenly. Toss them in a bowl with the chile, turmeric, and salt.